Conventional market tracking involves the collection of consumer data for the purpose of determining what product attributes and advertising message will appeal to the greatest cross-section of the intended consumers. The promotion of the product is based on acquiring as much data as possible about the consumers so that the product and promotion can be tailored to attract the greatest number of consumers for the product. Such a method of marketing a product is by it very nature impersonal. Promotions are therefore not necessarily tailored to the individual consumer. For example, offering a purchasing incentive to an entire population of consumers may provide great incentive to some consumers but very little incentive others.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a system and method for tracking individual consumer's purchasing habits so that promotions and incentives can be tailored on an individual basis.